Family Style

April 6, 2008|Kavita Varma-White and Brittany Wallman and Sherri Winston and MCT

WE ASK, YOU TELL

Q. A favorite story in my family is how at the age of 6 and scared of dogs, I witnessed a dogcatcher come and try to take our dog Peter, a stray we adopted, to the pound. I was crying hysterically (because I was alone with the dog in the front yard) and the dogcatcher said, "Don't cry, honey. I won't take your dog. Just get a collar on him." So in the end, I actually saved Peter's life. The recent filming of Marley & Me in the Sun-Sentinel newsroom and the start of our new pet blog - Sun-Sentinel.com/petblog - has us wanting to know: Do you have a funny story that involves your child and your pet?

Send responses to kvarma@sun-sentinel.com. Please include your name, city and the names and ages of your kids. We may print your response in Family Style.

- Kavita Varma-White

transPARENT

Wow, is he annoying!

Now that my 12-year-old son has started acting like a teenager, I will have lots more to blog about. That's the only upside.

The first sign that our son had evolved into That Which We've Dreaded for 12-and-a-Half-Years was his misappropriation of the word "wow."

He uses it as a term of derision, as in "Wow. You are REALLLLLLLLLLY stupid."

You can't imagine how annoying the word "wow" can be.

Let me give you some examples so you can try.

I say, "A $250 bike is way too expensive for a kid your age." He says, "Wow."

I say, "I can't believe one of your friends already is allowed to have a pierced ear." He says, "Wow."

I say, "I'm surprised your friend's parents would take you to see the Bodies exhibit without making sure you were allowed." He says, "Wow."

I say, "You're not allowed to stay out till midnight. You're only 12." He says, "Wow."

You get the idea? Annoying.

An efficient use of the English language. But annoying.

Really annoying. Wow.

- Brittany Wallman

Note: This is an excerpt from the Sun-Sentinel's parenting blog.

Read more at Sun-Sentinel.com/transparent

PICK & CHOOSE

DRAW

New colors have pop

Crayola has cranked up the color volume to a blaring level with Color Surge. The 12 new hues with names like "shocking blue" and "laser green" blow away the same old, boring Crayolas in your pencil case - but only when used with Color Surge paper. Color Surge comes in four different sets, all equipped with new markers, stencils, double-sided paper and a folder to keep it all together. Prices range from $7.99 to $19.99.

Crayola also has taken your sidewalk chalk masterpiece to the next level with its 3-D Sidewalk Chalk Kit. The dual-sided chalk has one warm-colored end and one cool. When you use the colors together and put the patented Crayola 3-D glasses on, the cooler colors appear to stay on the ground while the warmer colors look like they are floating! The combination makes your chalky creation jump off the driveway. The basic kit comes with five sticks, 3-D glasses and an idea book ($4.99). The deluxe kit ($9.99) adds five more sticks, sidewalk paint and brush, and four big stencils.

Crayola Color Surge and 3-D Sidewalk Chalk can be found at all major retailers.

- MCT

MAKE

Kids can whip up yummy dishes

Finally, a kids' cookbook that's really for kids.

Cook It in a Cup, by San Francisco chef Julia Myall, (Chronicle Books, $16.99) has 29 easy-to-follow (and healthy!) recipes for kids ages 6 and older. The great part: nary a pot or pan is needed. The book comes with six colorful silicone baking cups - each the size of a cupcake- and all recipes are to be made in them. (Handily, the cups can go from oven to microwave to freezer. They even turn inside out so it's easy to get the food out and to wash them.)

The book is divided into four chapters: "Breakfast in a Cup," "Mini Main Courses," "Super Little Sides" and "Sweet Treats." The recipes make perfect kid-sized servings. One of my 8-year-old daughter's faves: Easy Eggs. The how to: Crack the egg into a cup and stir it lightly with a fork until its blended. Microwave for 30 seconds. Then let it cool for 2 minutes, and turn it out of the cup to serve. (An exclamation mark in a yellow triangle is the symbol used whenever parental help is needed, such as placing the cups in the oven or using a hotpad to take out contents.) To dress it up, Myall suggests serving it on a toasted English muffin, sprinkled with shredded cheddar cheese.

- Kavita Varma-White

LISTEN

The nasty Mr. Gum

The fairy and the frying pan!

What is better than reading Andy Stanton's You're a Bad Man, Mr. Gum!? Listening to the author reading the story on audiobook ($17.99, HarperCollins).

Start out knowing this: You're a Bad Man, Mr. Gum! is ridiculous. It is a farce in the true sense of the word. Stanton blends the double-entendre style of Amelia Bedelia author Peggy Parish with gross and groovy insights guaranteed to spark giggles from girls and boys.

Having both read the book and listened to the audio, I must say that the visual presence of kooky typefaces and inspired illustrations added greatly to the story's effectiveness.

Mr. Gum is a nasty fellow with an even nastier disposition. However, the one thing about which old Gum is meticulous is his garden.

So when a Whopper of a dog shows up and wallows in his well-tended garden, of course, the angry fairy arrives and SWAT! Whacks ol' Gum in the head with a frying pan. See, that makes sense, right?

Repetition of names and places, as well as the author's tongue-in-cheek delivery, make the audiobook great fun. Your kids won't want to leave the car before the tale ends.

You may have to threaten them with an angry fairy. With a frying pan. And a mean right cross.